Our Adversary, the Defeated Foe!

1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. NKJV

I have found that I am not overly fond of discussing the devil because I think that even negative attention is loved by him. But today, for a few minutes, I will.

The devil, known as Satan, is our adversary! Plain and simple. Many people try not to think about or even acknowledge his utter dislike for them, but that’s exactly what he has for us. Or even better, absolute hatred!

An adversary is one’s opponent in a contest, conflict, or dispute. That certainly describes the devil. He is our opponent. Plain and simple. He is a constant threat to us and all that we hold dear because of the fact that we are special to God. Not just those of us who are born again, but mankind in general. He hates us all!

Jesus called Satan a liar, a thief, a robber, a murderer, and a destroyer! So if that is how Jesus identifies him, then we should know that he is never interested in anything but our demise.

Our adversary the liar. He tells us we’re sick, we’re dying, we’re never going to amount to anything, no one loves us, everyone is against us, God isn’t faithful, and the list goes on and on. When you hear this stuff, know it is coming from him! Don’t listen!

Our adversary the devil is a thief. “A thief is someone who steals something from someone in secret.” He comes to steal the word of God that God has spoken to us from the logos word, or through a rhema word. He comes to steal our joy, our peace, our reputation, our witness, our children, by any means necessary. He tries to wrap it up in other things like people and circumstances, but it is him!

Our adversary the devil is a robber. “A robber is not only usually seen by the victim, but also often injures or threatens to injure the victim (or use some other type of force) during the robbery.” That’s how he uses accidents, drug addiction, job loss, divorce and a number of other things. He’s bold when he does it and doesn’t care if you recognize he is the one behind it. Then he threatens you with fear, taunting and tormenting you, until you cave under the pressure! But it’s an all out attack from the devil and you don’t have to give in to it!

Our adversary is a murderer! Yes he is! Don’t ever think that pain or sickness is just that. He is trying to kill you! And if he can’t kill you, he will certainly put as much on you as he can! Don’t accept anything he throws at you as no big deal. It is a big deal!

He’s a destroyer of all that is good! He wants to destroy your witness, your home, your family, your finances, your business, your name, your peace, your relationships, and your health. I’m telling you, there is nothing in your life that is off limits to him!

So what is a person to do knowing that the adversary is constantly on the prowl looking for a way to bring on his attacks in your physical, emotional, financial, or spiritual beings? There are a couple things we can do:

1. Be sober! The Amplified Bible states it like this: “be well balanced and disciplined.” Don’t live a life that is undisciplined. A disciplined life for the believer is a life that says “no” to the things of the flesh and “yes” to the things pertaining to godliness. An undisciplined person picks and chooses when to attend church, when to pray, when to go to the club, when to sleep around…A disciplined person reads and study God’s word, prays for strength and wisdom, fellowship with believers, have people they are accountable to, lives their life to please the Father, etc.

2. Be diligent! Again, the Amplified states that we are to “be alert and cautious at all times.” This means, we should know the enemy and be mindful of how he acts. Don’t be afraid, just be alert. Years ago, I used to love to watch JAG. Rabb, a JAG lawyer had a nemesis named Palmer. In one episode, Palmer was in jail claiming to have seen the light. He promised to help the authorities to find the victims from his crimes. No strings attached, he just wanted families to have closure. Rabb didn’t buy it! He refused to believe a single thing Palmer said. Because of his diligence, he was one step ahead of Palmer when Palmer tried to escape, and bring harm to those who were with him. That has stuck with me all of these years. And it is so applicable to our lives and with dealing with the devil! We have to be watchful where he is concerned in order to enforce his defeat! He doesn’t change his goal, just his strategies. We know what he is up to and we should always be on the alert against him!

3. Know that he is “looking” for someone to devour! It doesn’t have to be you! God pointed this out to me years ago, when someone I thought was “the one to look up to spiritually” fell. I was so shaken that I made the comment that if that person fell, surely I couldn’t live for God! God told me that simply was not true. The devil will always be looking, but we didn’t have to be in a place where he could devour us! When he looks at me, all I want him to see is the Blood!

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to play with the devil and take him on in their flesh! We don’t war in the flesh with the devil! We cannot beat him at his game! But our Savior, Jesus, has already beaten him! Whipped him up, tied a noose around his neck, and made a public spectacle of him in the heavenlies! Our Savior, and Elder Brother don’t take his mess and the devil knows it! Now he needs to be made aware that neither do we!!

Don’t be scared of the devil! He’s our defeated foe! I started this blog the way I did to just make you aware of some of his tricks! God is greater than he is. Jesus saw him kicked out of heaven. I imagined he had a good laugh over that one! But needless to say, He is unruffled by what the devil throws because He has already dealt with him! Now we need to do the same in the matchless Name of Jesus! Wonderful Jesus!

Your Words Matter!

James 3:2 -Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. NLT

When I was growing up and someone would say something hurtful to us we would chant back at them,

“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me!”

We knew we were lying at the time because we were hurt! We just didn’t understand why we bought into the lie!

We say that cancer is a major killer and researchers are frantically looking for a cure. But an even bigger killer is hurtful words! When we throw our words around with the intent of hurting someone, we need to understand that we are being used by the enemy to bring death, both emotionally and even physically, to that person’s life!

I was out and about taking care of business when I heard a little boy about 3 years old crying. Then a woman, I am thinking it was his mother, came over and grabbed him and began cursing at him as if he was a full grown man. It shocked me so bad I almost went over to her and said something. Already she was laying the foundation of death in his spirit and death in their relationship. And those things could ultimately lead to his physical death,

People commit suicide because of bullying, taunting, and hurtful words on a daily basis. Those who don’t physically kill themselves live with low self-esteem wrapped up in an inferiority complex because they have been beaten down by someone’s words. And the saddest part of all, those hurtful, hateful words come from people we expect to love us, cherish us, and protect us.

Parents call their children all kinds of unproductive names as they are growing up: lazy, trifling, pathetic, worthless, setting the standard in their children’s lives for how they see themselves. Siblings attack one another. Sometimes under the guise of playing and joking, but they leave wounds that will follow the sibling possibly for life. Friends, or so called friends, say mean things, and teachers can even damage students. Employers can be hurtful to employees, and even pastors to the flock. The list is as exhaustive as our relationships. So living in a world of hurt becomes normal until it becomes unbearable, destroying people on the inside until they destroy themselves or others on the outside.

The verse above states that we all make mistakes. You see, if you find yourself in one of these categories as the giver of hurtful words you need to stop it! Your words matter in the lives of other and you are helping to destroy a person’s life. This thing is serious! It’s more than just a mistake, it’s sin!

As an educator insults are hurled at me on a regular basis. I generally try not to get on the same level, but I am not perfect and have said some things. One day a student was really disrespectful to me in the things that she said to me. They weren’t the worst things I had ever heard, but this particular day they were the words that sent my tongue into reaction. I told her in front of the whole class, her audience, that she was a child and needed to stay in a child’s place because if she was my child I would have already placed my hand on her mouth. Now, she understood my language enough to know that I had just told her that I wanted to slap her silly! I am pretty sure it was the first time ever I had said anything like that, but the point is that I did!

Well, thank God for putting me in check! I knew I had lost control of my tongue and I knew what I said had been hurtful even though it was provoked and she played it off. The next day I apologized to her in private and then later in class I apologized to her in front of her classmates. I became “her” teacher after that and her behavior and interaction with me became more positive. Even the other students in the class began to respond better towards me because I was willing to say that I was sorry. Then I asked for forgiveness! My words mattered then, and they matter every day! In all of my relationships!

Another time I was chatting with some colleagues when one of them referred to her husband as stupid. I said to her that she shouldn’t say things like that about her husband. She responded that he was stupid. Then she went on to ask me if I didn’t say things like that when my husband did stupid things. I replied to her that I don’t even think things like that about my husband! He’s not stupid, he is a wise man. The other lady responded with something like, “Well, mine is stupid!” I went on to say that when he does something I don’t like or I am not in agreement with I just stick with the issue without attaching negative words to him. They began looking at me with that, “sure you don’t” look. But then I gently said something like, “That’s why I have been happily married for so long. We don’t address each other in that manner because it is destructive to a relationship and we want to strengthen our marriage, not tear it down!”

Maybe you can think of a time, or several times, you allowed the situation to cause you to be thoughtless with your words. Maybe you have hurt, or are hurting your spouse, your child, your sibling, your student, your pastor, your flock, your employee… whoever it is, they don’t deserve to be spoken to like that. They should not experience such unkindness at the mouth of someone who is supposed to love, support, or protect them. Even in jesting, even when they provoke it. Stop it!

If you can’t stop it, you are out of control! I didn’t say it, the Word does. You have no control over your mouth or your life. And eventually it will begin to show. Do it for yourself and in the end you will be doing it for them. Your words matter, so make them count! Maybe I will address this in the next blog. It’s powerful! Wonderful Jesus!

Does He Have Your Heart?

Deuteronomy 6:5- “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…”

This morning I saw a man wearing a tee shirt with the scripture from Isaiah 54:17 that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. That was on his front, and of course it’s a favorite scripture of mine so I secretly cheered! But as he passed me, on his back was “God’s got my back!”

The very next thing in my spirit was, “But does He have your heart?”

It is interesting how the Lord can get our attention from simple interactions in this life. That stayed with me and of course, I wanted to share it. If the Lord asks a question, it’s best to see if you can answer it. Was the question about the young man, about me, about people in general.

Moses, speaking to the children of Israel, declared that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart. Can I be honest with you here? I love God dearly, but does He truly have all of my heart? Today I am wondering! Why would Moses even say this? Is it even possible to love the Lord with all of my heart?

Someone stopped Jesus and asked Him, testing Him, “which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…” In both the Old and the New Testaments we are told to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts! What does that even look like? Can I just say that I am not completely sure, because I am not going to say that I am there! But oh how I want to be!

Now any reader of the Word of God can tell you that we are not to compare ourselves to one another, so I won’t. But I will use Jesus as an example.

What did this undivided heart of love look like in Jesus’ life? Well…

*Jesus absolutely enjoyed the Presence of God. He prayed so much that His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. Not how to perform miracles, not how to teach the word, but how to pray! I know a heart totally bent towards loving Him is a heart that is in communion with Him through prayer continuously!

*Jesus fully obeyed the Father! He said whatever God told Him to do He did it! As a matter of fact, one soldier said to Him, I am also a man under authority! He recognized that Jesus lived a submitted life to the Father! Obeying Him is a given, but a heart that is totally His, not only obeys, but does so joyfully!

*Jesus wasn’t interested in fitting in with the social scene or religious groups of His day! If anything, He was constantly challenging their thinking about everything as He shed Light on how God sees and operates! He never tried to fit in, He never whined about being different, and He never cared what they thought of Him. He loved God with all of His heart, and nothing else mattered more than that! He was sold out!

*Jesus knew He was fully loved in return! He trusted in God’s love and operated from that love! And because of His undivided heart towards God, there was nothing that God wouldn’t do for Him!

No one mattered more to Him than His Father! No one’s opinion mattered more to Him than His Father! No one’s will, not even His own, mattered more than the Father’s!

When I compare my heart to Jesus’ heart, I truly fall short! But the good news is because I have Him as my example, all I have to do is follow Him! As I grow in my relationship with Him, I know that there is no greater place of joy than His Presence. When I spend time in prayer I feel a peace that nothing else can give me. I don’t always pray the same way at the same time, but there are times when I just want to talk with the Father! Not always easy to keep your prayer life from becoming rote and vain repetition, but so necessary for a vital life with Him!

Learning to fully obey, the first time, is another area of challenge for us. We have to not only be committed to fully obeying the logos (written) word of God, but those promptings that say: forgive her, apologize to him, don’t open your mouth, give her this, go visit that sister, go to church, encourage that person….these words from Him have to also be obeyed.

Not fitting in!! We are a peculiar people, so that should be no surprised. Not weird people, but different in all that we do! It’s sometimes hard for Christians to be different without being weird. It is also hard sometimes to not fit in. To be the only Christian, to be the only one standing up for Jesus! To be the only one not drinking, not cursing, not sleeping around, not cheating, etc. But when Elijah complained about being the only one, God told him that He had 7,000 prophets reserved to Himself! So you are not the only one! Maybe you need to be the one bold enough to stand out for Him so that others will follow!

Lastly, understanding the love that He is giving us! Paul wrote that we should understand the height, depth, width and length of His love! He loves us as passionately as He wants us to love Him!

Does He have my heart? Yes! Is it fully engaged? It’s the thing that I want more than anything else! And as I live my life, I live for it to be an expression of His love for me and my love for Him! So while He definitely has my back, more importantly, I give Him my heart and all that entails! Does He have your heart? Wonderful Jesus!

He’ll Do It Again!

Colossians 2:14 -having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. NIV

I thank God for Jesus! Knowing that the penalty for my sins, death, has been paid in full with His death, and that I am free of that debt, is great news! We used to sing a song years ago:

He paid a debt, He did not owe.
I owed a debt, I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away!

And now I sing, a brand new song, amazing grace!
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay!

Yes! Jesus “canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us,…nailing it to the cross. We are free of that if He is our Lord and Savior! A great place to shout, “Glory!”

If that was the only debt that He had canceled, it would be enough, but we serve the God of abundance and there is more debt cancellations in our future!

In Exodus 11 the children of Israel are given instructions from God. Verse 2 states that God told them to borrow from their neighbors jewels of silver and jewels of gold. Notice the word “borrow” was used, not the word “ask”. Now we know that they had an abundance of silver and gold when they left Egypt because they melted some of it and made a golden calf, and another time they gave so much for the construction of the temple that they were told to stop giving. So they left Egypt with quite a lot of gold and silver.

Then in Exodus 14 the Egyptians pursued the Israelites as they crossed the Red Sea. When the waters were released and drowned them, the debt was canceled. God said that they would not see the Egyptians again. So therefore, the debt could not and would not be paid! He canceled their financial debt and the gold and silver and jewels were theirs with no strings attached!

The most amazing memory I have of debt cancelation is the first time God did that for us. We were having our second child. We did not have health insurance for a number of reasons. So in order to take care of the finances for having a baby, we paid in advance throughout the pregnancy. On the day of her birth I had to have a C-section, and she was placed in neonatal icu.

This was heartbreaking for us as parents to watch our child be placed in nicu for obvious reasons, but the costs associated with this, knowing that we didn’t have insurance was a real concern. My husband said that he needed a stress test at that point. So we are now concerned about her life and our finances. But God spoke to my husband from Philippians 4:6-7- “Be anxious for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Someone from the hospital visited us and told us of a way to have the bills picked up through Medicare and even told us that all the money we had already paid would be returned to us. When we shared this with a person in the medical field, they said it wouldn’t happen; but I want you to know it happened! We had all of our money given back to us and the debt was paid, canceling our need to pay it. Wonderful, wonderful Savior!!

Over the years I have heard so many wonderful testimonies about debt cancellations. Our congregation received hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay off our church! It does happen! The question is not, “Is this for real?” The question is, “Can you believe it is biblical, and can you believe He will do it for you?” He is still cancelling debt! Does this mean I get to go out and buy a Porsche I know I can’t afford and tell God to pay for it? Don’t be ridiculous! But when you find yourself in a state of overwhelming debt, you can ask for His assistance! I’ve seen Him provide the funds when payment time came and I have seen Him cancel debt. He is still saying, “Be it done unto you according to your faith! Wonderful Jesus!

He’s Already Provided!

Genesis 22:13-14 -Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The- Lord -Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

One day I was reading an article about a miraculous provision from God. In the article the missionary shared how he and the children were praying for a need for the mission and as they were praying, one of the little girls prayed for a baby doll. Now this has been a while and I don’t remember all the details of why they were praying, but I remember she prayed for a baby doll.

Well, not long after they prayed, a box came to him from his sister. She would send boxes of things to him, but usually they were needs. However, in this box was a baby doll. Now since she had mailed the box to him weeks before they prayed, there was no way for her to know the girl prayed for a doll. But lo and behold, a doll was in the box. She explained it by saying that as she packed the box she saw the doll and felt impressed to add it! She had no way of knowing that a little girl would pray for a doll, but God knew. (If you have read this and I didn’t tell it completely accurately, don’t be offended! I just want to get the point across!)

Another time I was reading, could have been the same article, not sure, but I was reading when I read about a missionary who had lost his glasses. He was really at a disadvantage without his glasses and had no way of getting another pair where he was at. So he asked God for some new glasses. Again, a box came in with a pair of glasses with the perfect prescription for him! They got in the box because a packer of the box dropped them accidentally in the box and they were mailed off. Apparently the person who lost his glasses had access the missionary didn’t have to a new pair of glasses. (Surmising here!) But God sent those glasses in the mail, before the need arrived and provided for it in advance!

Well, recently, I had a similar thing happen to me. Our daughter had a washer and dryer in her apartment, in another state, that she needed to have moved because it was sitting in her living room. We decided to go and visit her, but we would go in our truck so that we could bring it back home and store it in our basement until she decided what she wanted to do with it. You guessed it, my washer died on me suddenly. And yes! He had already provided a washer for me! Sitting in my basement ready for use!

He is good like that! He knows what we have need of before we ask and often times He just provides it without us asking or sends it to us before we even know we have the need.

That’s what happened with Abraham. He went to obey God and offer up his son, knowing the promise God had given him concerning Isaac! I think Abraham was expecting to see his first resurrection. When he told his servants that he and his son was going to worship and would return, he was fully expecting God to give him a miracle. God watched as Abraham was ready to obey Him and in the moment of complete obedience God stopped him and showed him the ram! He had already provided!

Peter wrote: “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” (2 Peter 1:3). As Christians we spend half of our lives begging God to provide to us that which He has already provided! Every thing we need that pertains to life and godliness has been given to us already. Now we trust and believe that He has provided it and will get it to us! This isn’t an easy transition to make-going from begging, to praying and trusting, but it’s a necessary transition.

What do you have need of today? What are you asking Him for? Can you believe that He has already provided? If you can, He has! Now believe and receive it! Not name it and claim it and blab it and grab it! But trust that your Heavenly Father truly wants to bless you with all that He has provided! Wonderful Jesus!

When Am I Healed?

2 Corinthians 10:5 – casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Although I am pretty sure that this particular scripture has a lot to do with the sharing of the gospel and even something to do with spiritual warfare, I want to use it today to talk about the stand against sickness and disease. I believe it applies, because it most definitely is spiritual warfare!

A lot of people get sick! Saved and unsaved! And in America we have a lot of ways to deal with those physical ailments in our bodies. We have medicines, doctors, hospitals, urgent care, and even prayer. The interesting thing is that when we try all those things in the natural, if they don’t work, we just try some more of them. But when we have someone pray over us or we do it ourselves and we see no results, we quit!

Today, I want to share something with you about the secret to understanding divine healing. In trusting God for our healing we have to decide that we are going to believe what God’s word says about healing! Irrespective to what we see, what a doctor says, what we feel, or when the results manifest. That’s it! It’s no secret!

You see, the day you believed God for your salvation was the day you were saved. The day you believe for you healing is the day you are healed. Are you in heaven, yet? No! But you believe that because you asked Him to come into your life and forgive you of all your sins that you were saved from eternal damnation to eternal life! And you were! So it is with healing! When you believe that you are healed, you are healed!

Here’s where we miss it! When we pray and the symptoms don’t go away or they don’t stay away, we start saying, “Oh, I guess I wasn’t healed! Or I lost my healing! Or it didn’t work!” Or some other nonsensical phrase!

Paul wrote, cast down arguments! You are going to have to cast down those arguments that come to you in the form of lying accusations and say with your mouth, that you are healed. You are not denying symptoms or diagnoses, you are just not coming in agreement with them, but with the word!

I read in Christ the Healer, written by Bosworth, where he called symptoms, lying vanities. You can’t rationalize with lying vanities, you have to cast them down! You do that by saying no to them and yes to what God has said about you!

Paul also wrote that we are to cast down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God! What is the knowledge of God regarding your healing? The knowledge is that He is your healer and wants you whole! But Sister So and So died! I know! And I’m sorry to hear it, but guess what? If you are standing for your healing, you have to cast down that type of thinking. That’s an argument that needs casting down! But I hurt so much! That pain is trying to exalt itself against the knowledge of God! Cast it down!!

Those symptoms and negative thoughts are sent by the devil to get you and me off of our faith! Satan always comes to steal the word! To call God a liar! It’s time we recognize that our symptoms are lying to us and that we are healed. Not because the symptoms stopped, but because the word says we are! Command them to go!

My daughter took the bar exam a few years ago! We prayed with her and believed that she would only take it once and pass it. She went to take the bar and afterwards admitted it was a challenge. But we continued to encourage her by telling her that she passed. When she got her official scores that said she passed we were all excited! We decided to celebrate!

Then the Holy Spirit stopped me and said, “When did she pass the bar?” I can’t remember if He said just that or if He asked me, “When did she pass the bar, today or when she took the bar?” but I know He asked me the question. So I replied, “on the day of the test!” And I knew what He was trying to get me to see. Although we didn’t have any results until weeks later, she had already passed the test before we got the results. The results didn’t pass her, she had already passed! That is why we can say we are healed before the symptoms stop! Because we are healed when we believe! Not when the symptoms stop!

A few months ago, I woke up with excruciating pain in my right shoulder and arm. It was so painful my first thought was to stay home from work. But as I dressed and spoke to the pain, the pain lifted. But it returned! It got so bad that I had the intercessors pray for me. And the pain dimmed. For weeks now, I have been waking up with pain in my arm. I’ve discovered that if I sleep on my back I won’t hurt, so of course I try to sleep on my back. But sometimes I am so tired that I automatically sleep on my stomach, and then my arm is in pain again. Not nearly as painful as in the beginning. But it goes when I get up and declare what I believe or as I command it to go. So am I healed or in need of healing? I am healed! I don’t usually battle with things for months, but in this it has lingered and I take a sure stand that I am healed! I have no doubt to that truth! If you see me and ask me about it I will tell you I am healed! Am I lying? No! The symptoms are lying and I cast them down as they try to exalt themselves against the knowledge of God!! I am better but I am not compromising with pain, it all must go!

This is true in everything that God has promised us! Your need may not be healing, it may be financial, but you are going to have to cast down thoughts of poverty as they try to exalt themselves over the knowledge of God’s word! Maybe you don’t feel saved for one reason or another, but you are going to have cast down those lies if you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and be your Lord and Savior! The devil is liar! Not Jesus! Not the Word of God!! I am yelling this at you! The! Devil! Is! A! Liar! Stop listening to him and start standing on the truth of His Word! Your life will never be the same!! Wonderful Jesus!

A Lesson from Ezra!

Ezra 7:10 – For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel.

Ezra was both a priest and a scribe. His genealogy traces all the way back to Aaron the first earthly high priest. Ezra was obviously a well respected Jewish leader both to the captives and before the Babylonian king because we are told that he asked for the king’s permission to go to Jerusalem and he was sent. As I did a simple research on him, I discovered that in Jewish tradition he became known as a second Moses and was heavily regarded as one who was responsible for reconnecting Israel with the Book of the Law.

When I read this verse, it leaped off the pages for me. I have read the Bible through on several occasions. There have been times when I have read it through 3 times in one year. So when I say I have read this scripture before, I have! But this time it truly caught my attention and I wanted to blog about it.

The first thing mentioned in this verse is that Ezra set his heart to study the Law of the Lord! He made it a point, he resolved in his heart, he was determined to the study the Law. We call it the Word of God because we have the totality of it in the Bible. The point being, he was determined to study God’s Word!

Studying the word of God is a vital part of the Christian faith. I would venture to say that it is the concrete that keeps us from floating all over the place. 2 Timothy 2: 15 encourages us to study the Word to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman not ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth! In order to rightly divide the Word, you have to study it. Not just read it, but study it. Ezra understood this as a priest and a scribe and made it a way of life!

Studying the word could involve:

  • Reading it over and over again
  • Reading other versions
  • Meditating on it
  • Looking at the entire text around it, maybe the chapter
  • Looking at the setting
  • Understanding who spoke it and why
  • Understanding the culture of the day
  • Understanding the Hebrew word or the Greek word
  • In other words, it is not reading it once and saying, I studied it!

Second, Ezra said he had resolved in his heart to do, or practice the Word of God. What is the point in studying the Word if there is no commitment to obeying the Word? When Ezra discovered in the Law that he was supposed to do something like keep the feast, he kept the feast. He had just settled it in his heart that he wasn’t going to try to figure out how to get around what the Word said, but that he was going to obey the Word!

I am convinced that the reason some Christians live such shabby lives today is because they have no personal convictions of the Word of God because they spend no real time in personal studying of His Word! Don’t get me wrong, we all need to be taught, but then we need to go back and revisit what we are taught and make sure it lines up with the Word of God! And when we understand it and have received a revelation of its truth, then we need to practice it, not debate it or try to justify why it isn’t applicable to our lives or today! The Word of God plainly states that we are not to commit adultery or fornication, yet, people are still trying to justify why they do it!! Seriously! Spend some time studying the word so that you can understand He didn’t say it to keep you from fun (although I personally don’t see the fun in either of these), but to keep you from the devastation sin brings with it! All sin brings devastation!!

Lastly, Ezra said that he resolved in his heart to teach the Word. It wasn’t enough for him to study it and do it, he had to teach it. It’s a simple principle of life, you learn, you practice, you teach! That’s what Ezra did! When he saw the riches in the Word and how living those truths blessed his life, he wanted everyone to experience the Word. So he committed to teaching it. When he learned that there were things that pleased God and things that didn’t, he wanted to teach those statues so that the children of Israel would know God the way he was learning to know God!

If studying the Word of God only resulted in us knowing the dos and don’ts of the Word, it wouldn’t be much different then studying a textbook. And that’s the truth! Ezra studied the word and began to understand the God of the Word. That’s why he was so committed to studying the Word. And as he learned of God, he wanted to obey Him! And as he began to understand his God, he wanted others to know Him! And so it is for us! We don’t study the word to “know” the letter of the Word, but to know the Author of the Word. And as we know Him, we love Him and are more willing to obey Him. And as we know Him, we want to teach others to obey Him! Or we should!

Apply this simple truth to your life today! Purpose to study the Word, do the Word and to teach the Word, because in doing so, you search the Scriptures and learn of Jesus! Wonderful Jesus!

Are You Offended With Jesus?

Matthew 11:2-3 -Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

are-you-offended-with-jesus_.mp3

This morning I was reminded of a passage in the Bible and I decided to blog about it. Generally speaking, I don’t blog until I feel I have something to say. And this morning I do!

In the Scriptural text, John sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him, “Are you the One, or look we for another?” There are some interesting dynamics going on here, but the major thing is that John is offended with Jesus!

The word offense means “to have an annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one’s standards or principles.” I believe that John was clearly offended with Jesus. The Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us the why of everything but there are some things we can infer.

Why would John be asking Jesus is He the One? Was it not John who declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:36)?” And was it not John who declared, “ I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost?” (Mark 1:8) Yes, it is he!

John said of himself that he was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord” and that Jesus came after him but was preferred before him. And the greatest statement John made about Jesus was, “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God!” (John 1:34)

So I return to my original statement that John was offended with Jesus because he went from “Behold the Lamb of God”….to “are you the One?” Only offense will cause us to question our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Let’s return to Matthew 11, where Jesus responds to John’s disciples. He tells them to report back to John what they heard and saw, but then He makes this statement in verse 6, “And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” Why would Jesus add this to what He wanted the disciples to tell John? Obviously, John was offended!

Why was John offended? I don’t know for sure, but scripture let’s know that John is in prison and he is about to die, so offense has come in. He had a perceived notion that he would be protected from the devil because of his service to God. He has spent his entire life preparing the way for Jesus, getting people ready to hear the Messiah and the thanks he is getting is a beheading. What’s wrong with this picture?

You see, John had the same adversary that we have. While we are living this life in Christ, things are going to happen and the adversary will forever be there to accuse God to us! After all, he is an accuser. He accuses us to God and God to us! And so I am sure that while John was in prison, the devil was in his ear: You spent all that time working for God and now you are going to die! You thought Jesus was the Lamb of God, but if He is, then why are you in prison? Why hasn’t He delivered you! Your life has been a sham, a lie, a joke! He is not the Son of God! Admit it! Your life and ministry has been in vain!

And so John, in desperation, frustration, aggravation, and offense, sends a message to Jesus. And Jesus, in the way only He can do, sends a message back to John that will settle things for him and bring him peace… “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached to them…and oh yes, blessed is he, who shall not be offended in me!”

This is one of the biggest problems in the church! Offense with Jesus! Yes, we have a problem being offended with others, but the biggest problem is offense with Jesus! We get offended when He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want Him to, or in a timely manner. We get offended when our loved ones die. We get offended when we are not healed miraculously. We get offended when our spouses desert us or our children go the way of the world. We get offended when our ministries don’t take off and we get offended when we can’t find a husband. And the list goes on and on and on. And once we get offended, we have a problem with Jesus, and if He is truly who He said He is, and can we trust Him to do what He said He would do!

Well, I am writing today to declare to you, that He is who He says He is, and He does what He said He will do!! He has given us exceeding precious promises and will fulfill all that we can believe Him for! But in the case of John, John knew that Jesus must increase and he must decrease. We use that saying to show our humbleness, but John said it because he had already been told that he and Jesus would not share the same stage. He really had to leave this earth. It was part of his assignment!

Jesus loved John! John was his cousin by birth, but John was truly His forerunner. Jesus eulogized John by saying that he was a prophet and more than a prophet. And Jesus validates John’s mission in life to prepare the way. Jesus was not uncaring about John, but Jesus understood that something greater was in the making! There was a bigger picture!

Recently a church member passed. We were believing God for her miraculous healing. But she didn’t get it on this side of heaven. Generally when people I have prayed for and with pass on, I have to fight against the lies and accusations of the devil. But I just made up my mind that I wouldn’t have to this time, because I wouldn’t participate with the lies of the devil. God is a good God! Nope, He is better than good, He is great! And when we get the right heart and mind regarding Him, the devil will not be able to lead us into offense against our Saviour!

I hadn’t realized that I had written so much, so I will end it here. If God tugged at your heart strings while you were reading this because you have become offended with Him, fix it now! Don’t let another moment go by with you being offended at the Lord! Repent and get your peace back! John did! And he died knowing that he had fulfilled all the plans and purposes of the Lord! And you can, too! Wonderful Jesus!

How Do I Love Thee?

Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

Love is, and always has been a powerful emotion. It’s the subject of countless books, songs, poems, and movies and it’s theme never fails to put hope in us all. A person who says they are not interested in love is a liar or someone who has been so deeply hurt by its lack that they are in total denial. We were made for love!

Elizabeth Browning Barrett wrote a poem in the 1800s that is still known and recited on some level, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” After 40 years as a single woman, she had finally found her Prince Charming. In order to be with him she had to run away from home and elope. Her father disinherits her for leaving, but she goes on to have a son and sixteen years of marriage with the one she loved. Another key point was her love for the Father. It is said that she taught herself Hebrew in order to read the Old Testament. While she is not my focus today, I thought it would be good to give this insight about a poem that has been rewritten and used for the past 200 years. That’s a long time!

But over 2,000 years ago, another declared His love with even greater passion, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16) and in another place He declared through Paul, “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)!

Another personal favorite: “Who can separate us from the love of Christ” (Romans 8:35)? I can answer that one, no one can! No one and no thing can lessen His love for us or cause Him to stop loving us! Even when we toss His love in His face and walk away from Him, He still loves us. Even when we reject His Son and die and go into a Christless eternity, He still loves us, for it is the greatest love ever known. Period!

John wrote, in 1 John 3:1- “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…” Isn’t that something? He bestows His love on us and calls us His sons. Can I clarify something here? Although He genuine loves the whole world, only those who receives Jesus becomes a part of the family and enters into sonship! But His love invites all those who are not in the family to enter in.

Years ago we sang a song, and I’ve been hearing it more today, that simply states:

“O how He loves you and me!

O how He loves you and me!

He gave His life, what more could He give,

O how He loves you, O how He loves me,

O how He loves you and me!”

Paul relishes in this love! As he writes to the Galatians and remind them of this love and why it is so hypocritical to slight one another based on heritage or for any other reason, he boils it down to it being about love. And when Paul thinks about dying to himself, being crucified with Christ and allowing Christ to live through him, Paul is basically saying, “it’s easy because He loves me so!”

Oh how He loves us! Why? Because He is love (1 John 4:8)! Everything He has said, everything He has done, and everything He will ever do, is because He loves us so! Jeremiah wrote that He loves us with an everlasting love and He has drawn us to Him through his unfailing kindness (Jeremiah 31:3).

The devil is constantly bombarding us with lies about who God is and why God did or didn’t do something. He has us looking at the Word, the commands of God as if they are there to spoil life for us, to bind us up and to keep us from having fun. He even tells us when our loved ones die that God needed them more than we do and that’s why He took them as if He is so selfish and so needy that He hurts us to satisfy His longings! THE DEVIL IS A LIAR! Stop choosing to listen to him over what your heart knows, GOD SO LOVES YOU!!!!

Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down His life for His friends (John 15:13). In other words, He laid down His life for us to show us how much He loves us!! His love isn’t demonstrated in coming through for us, or in answering our prayers per se; but in dying for us! Receive it today! Wonderful Jesus!

This Life I Now Live!

Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Living a life in the flesh by the faith of Jesus is my daily aim. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it or even look like it, but it’s the life I choose. Everything Jesus did He did for our example and He did well. In the flesh without being fleshy. That’s the life I desire and there are a few things I can do to make it happen. Today my blog is to highlight a few things that demonstrate Him living in me and through me.

First, I believe it’s a life of deep and intimate fellowship with the Father. Jesus was known to be a person of prayer. (Matthew 14:23). And when He prayed things happened because He didn’t just say a lot of religious words, for Him, it was a place of prayer. A time to commune with God. A place of prayer that ceases to be about needs, and fears, and desires, that centers on the majesty of the Father. A place where communion is so sweet that all you want is more of Him and to give Him more of you.

Let me be perfectly honest! That isn’t the case always. I am a praying woman, but I don’t always lose myself in His Presence and have a time of worship where I know I have communed with the Father. I know my prayer life is good, but deep in my heart, I want it to be so much more. I have experienced that place of communion where I have known His presence to enter my room and surround me, but I have to admit, not nearly as frequently as I could. Notice I wrote could and not should, because this is not a place of obedience but a place of adoration! When I think of the faith of Jesus, I always start here. His life of faith that He lived was developed through a deep communion with the Father!

Secondly, loving others! A prayer that I pray more than I care to admit is Lord, help me to love like You love. Living this life by His faith deeply centers around loving people like He loved. John 3:16 is such a challenge to the believer. To love like He loved, to give my life (not on the cross) but in prayer and service for the kingdom, making a difference, impacting others, showing them the Father because I love them, not because I want to be able to testify that I led someone to Christ or I blessed someone. Is it a testimony? Yes! But the testimony should not be the motivation, only love when reaching out to people. His motivation for the cross and everything He did was love!

Lastly, (only because I don’t like long posts), a life free of sin. He said that the devil had nothing in Him. (John 14:30) That’s a powerful statement to know that the devil has never been able to infiltrate your life or your heart with sin. Yes He was born without sin, but when we are born again, we are free of sin. (Romans 6:18)

Letting Jesus’ faith live through us is allowing Him to keep us from sin, having His heart and His attitude about sin. No sin can be ok in our lives. We can have no place for lying, no place for cheating, no place for sexual immorality, no place for worldly acceptance, and the list can go on. Jesus was born free of sin but He chose not to live in it and not to allow to give any place to the devil. And then He freed us and told us that we are no longer slaves to sin and to give no place to the devil. That’s His life! That’s to be my life!

This life that I now live in the flesh, I still live in the flesh much too much. Work, pleasure, church, and the cares of this world are always vying for my time, but I press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ! (Philippians 3:14) Paul wrote, walk in the Spirit and we’ll not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

Therefore, if this life I now live in the flesh, I’m to live by the faith of the Son of God I am going to have to be a person of communion with God. Jesus still wants to commune with the Father and since He is in me, it’s what I am to do. Since He is living in me, love should be my life’s motivation. Not just with the people I like and whom like me; but simply allowing Him to love through me. And lastly, a life free from the domination of sin and the devil. Jesus still has dominion over sin and has given it to me, to you! We can allow Him to live His life through us in such a way that we too can make the claim that Paul made. Father, help us to live by the faith of Your precious Son! Wonderful Jesus!